GUEST POST: HOW SWISHING SAVES OUR PENNIES AND THE PLANET!

Put away your credit card and stand back from the cash machine – are you ready for the latest free fashion craze? It’s time to start swishing!

What is swishing?

Started by Lucy Shea, “swishing” is the must-do eco fashion trend that’s going global. And the reason it’s so popular is because it brings together two of our favourite words: free; and fashion.

Put simply, swishing is all about exchanging clothes and all manner of fashion accessories from shoes to hats to belts and bags. Not exactly a new concept, but the idea has been given a twenty-first century makeover thanks to Lucy and her business, the Sustainability Communication Agency, Futerra. The London-based business set about building and banding the concept of Swishing in 2007, creating a website and organising events around the UK. At its heart, swishing is about giving women the chance to indulge their love of shopping with an environmental love. And since its launch, thousands of British women have taken part, exchanging their clothes for new ones, new in a swishing sense. In fact, Lucy estimates that in the UK, around seven thousand women swap some 25, 000 items each year and Futerra’s Swishing website each month receives around 10,000 visitors from around the world.

Swishing events and parties are taking part all over Britain, with local swishing groups being set up. But this isn’t just a British phenomenon, because Swishing is going global. Futerra boss Lucy reports that she’s receiving party pack requests from around the world including Sydney and Mexico City. There’s even a Global Swishing week, which, in 2012, ran between 15th and 21st February. So how does it work? Well, swishing etiquette, as it’s been dubbed, means that you’re allowed to take away the same number of items that you bring to a part. Another rule is you should bring clothes you’d be proud to give to someone.

But is it even possible to live in a world where swishing replaces shopping; or is it all a bit idealistic? Who knows, but consider this: each year in Britain, we buy around two million tonnes of clothes, and we throw away between one and two million tonnes of shoes and clothes. That’s almost four per cent of the total waste sent to landfill sites each year in Britain. Now, times it by every other country, perhaps not exactly, but this gives some indication of the amount of clothing waste our way of life, and specifically our love of shopping, is creating. And then consider the health implications for those working in the clothing manufacturing industry? For example, some 20,000 farmers reportedly due each year as a result of pesticide poisoning, many of whom are cotton farmers, producing the material used in the manufacturing of cheap clothing.

Considering how we’ve managed to retrain and re-educate some of our other shopping habits, eco fashion and swapping has potential. Not convinced? Just remember our love of plastic bags and how things have changed since then.

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This article was written on behalf of The Splash, an eco-friendly online magazine with a passion for ethical fashion!

PHOTO CREDIT: THESWAPTEAM

GUEST POST: DRESS TO THE NINES ON A DIME – A GUIDE FOR FRUGAL SHOPPERS

The fashion world is known for its high prices.  Scan the prices listed in any high fashion magazine and you might wonder if there is any hope for someone of average means to dress to impress.  Shopping for clothes can deplete your resources fairly quickly, so it’s important to have a few tricks up your sleeves like utilizing consumer-savings sites such as CouponCraving.com, especially for large retailers like Macy’s.  But what can you do to save money when it’s time to go shopping for clothes?  Give the following tips a try the next time you want to update your wardrobe.

  • Set a budget:  Marie Claire suggests, before you go shopping for the latest styles, set a realistic budget for what you can afford to spend.  Think about all aspects of your wardrobe that you might need to update, casual and formal wear, work attire, shoes.  Plan ahead how much you will spend on these items, or whether you actually need to spend anything.  Do your shoes really need updating yet?  Don’t forget to factor in your other expenses as well.  It wouldn’t do to forego paying your utilities in favor of that new pair of pants.  By having this in mind ahead of time, you will be less likely to splurge on something you can’t really afford.
  • Do It Yourself:  Often we look to celebrities for the latest in fashion.  But what they’re wearing are often the items we are least likely to be able to afford.  Instead, it’s a good idea to look at what you already have in your wardrobe for things that can be modified to mimic the latest styles.  InStyle gives three examples of celebrity looks that can be copied with what you already have in your closet; two suggestions for changing skirts, and one idea for adding decorative dots to a pair of flats.  With this tip you’ll spend much less money than if you actually went to a department store looking for something comparable to what you saw in the pages of a magazine.
  • Mix and Match:  If you do end up going shopping, as will likely happen at some point, there are many stores that offer quality clothes for reasonable prices.  Think of H&M and J Crew.  As GQ points out, it’s important to buy items that can work well with many different things in your closet.  Mixing and matching your new clothes will help you save money.  Avoid buying something that has only one match in your wardrobe.

Fashionable clothes always cost some money, but there are ways to avoid spending all your hard-earned cash on just a few items.  Make sure you follow these tips the next time you’re thinking of planning a trip to the mall.  You’ll be happy with what you’re wearing as well as with what you saved.

JESS THOMPSON